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Blood

Blood, in sickness and in health. With writer Lawrence Hill, forensic pathologist Gillian Leak and blood scientist Kikkeri Naresh.

What do you see in a phial of blood? A life sustaining fluid teeming with millions of cells? Evidence to solve a terrible crime? Samira Ahmed explores blood in medicine, at crime scenes, and in our bodies and minds, with the help of Canadian writer Lawrence Hill who鈥檚 written a biography of the red stuff, Dr Gillian Leak, a forensic expert in crime scene blood pattern analysis, and Professor Kikkeri Naresh seeking to unlock the mysteries of blood cancer.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Available now

41 minutes

Last on

Mon 25 Aug 2014 02:05GMT

Chapters

  • Lawrence Hill

    A biography of blood

    Duration: 13:03

  • Gillian Leak

    Reading blood stains at crime scenes

    Duration: 07:34

  • 60 Second Idea

    Artificial blood

    Duration: 04:01

  • Kikkeri Naresh

    Unlocking the secrets of blood cancers

    Duration: 13:01

Lawrence Hill

Lawrence Hill

Lawrence Hill is an award winning Canadian writer who has recently written a book called Blood: A Biography of the Stuff of Life. It is a very personal series of observations and investigations following the flow of blood,聽 literally and figuratively, through science, art, politics, religion and literature.

Photo courtesy of Lawrence Hill

Gillian Leak

Gillian Leak

Dr. Gillian Leak is a blood pattern analysis and crime scene expert. She is an internationally recognized specialist in the field of blood pattern analysis and was formerly the UK's Forensic Science Service National Scientific Lead for the discipline.

Kikkeri Naresh

Kikkeri Naresh

Professor Kikkeri Naresh has worked in the field of haematopathology for over 20 years, leading and training health professionals across three continents. 聽At the Hammersmith Hospital and Imperial College in London he focuses on diagnostics, translational research and training in blood pathology, and has a particular interest in cancers of the blood.

60 second idea to improve the world

60 second idea to improve the world

Gillian Leak wants to develop artificial blood for medical purposes that doesn't require refrigeration and has long term storage capabilities. This would mean that it could be shipped at a moment鈥檚 notice to any disaster in the world and would be incapable of transmitting any type of disease. Where appropriate, drugs could be added to the sample prior to infusion if necessary.

Broadcasts

  • Sat 23 Aug 2014 21:05GMT
  • Sun 24 Aug 2014 09:05GMT
  • Mon 25 Aug 2014 02:05GMT

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We would love to hear why for an upcoming Forum about the history of the dollar.

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